Political parties in Cyprus canceled all their public events over the weekend as a mark of respect for Defense Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos, who died at the age of 48 on Saturday after suffering a brain hemorrhage at his office a day earlier.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who had known Mitsopoulos since he studied in Greece in the 1980s, expressed his condolences.

Mitsopoulos had also worked in the past as an adviser to Greek Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis. He was first elected as an MP in Cyprus in 2006 with the ruling conservative DISY party.